Cricket Australia has announced India's top pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the captain of the Men's Test Team of the Year 2024. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is the other Indian who has been included in the multination playing XI comprising players from six countries.
Wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey and pacer Josh Hazlewood are the two players from the Australian team who have made it to the multinational 11.
England's prolific batter Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, along with New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra and Matt Henry, are named in the team. South Africa's Keshav Maharaj and Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis are the solitary representatives from their countries.
India's batting prospect Jaiswal, 22 years old, has shown a mature head at the crease all through 2024. He scored successive double hundreds in February to win a home Test series against England and his dazzling 161 at Perth proved decisive. Jaiswal set a record for most runs by an Indian opener in a calendar year and most sixes (36) globally in a year.
England's Duckett was impressive in his aggressive style of play with hundreds in Rajkot (153) and Multan (114) while losing the games. His strike rate of 87.04 underlined his value in the attacking strategy of England.
Root added six hundreds in 2024, including twin hundreds against Sri Lanka at Lord's and an unbeaten 262 in Multan that helped England achieve a remarkable win over Pakistan. His consistency and all-round contributions, including 11 wickets, highlighted another stellar year.
Ravindra was the hero for New Zealand as they won a historic series in India, with a match-winning 134 in the first Test. He also scored a double-century against South Africa at home.
Brook shone with series-defining hundreds against New Zealand and a stunning 317 in Multan, showcasing his match-winning brilliance under pressure.
Sri Lanka's Mendis, who had been a fringe player at the start of the year, finished with 1,000 runs in 13 innings, matching Bradman's record. Four centuries underlined a breakout year.
Australia's Carey was the standout behind the stumps, taking 46 dismissals. His unbeaten 98 in Christchurch was one of the year's best fourth-innings knocks.
Henry emerged as New Zealand's key bowler, highlighted by his 5-15 against India.
Bumrah's 2024 was history itself in terms of 71 wickets in 13 matches at 14.92 as he was standout bowling of the year.
Australia: Hazlewood has to be there as well with his sub-14 bowling average. South Africa's Maharaj will fit very well having proved pivotal in back-to-back series wins for South Africa.
Cricket Australia Men's Test of the Year 2024: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Rachin Ravindra, Harry Brook, Kamindu Mendis, Alex Carey (wk), Matt Henry, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Josh Hazlewood, Keshav Maharaj.
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